PCDE Plan and manage database infrastructure Practice Question
This PCDE practice question tests your understanding of plan and manage database infrastructure. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A team is designing a disaster recovery plan for a Cloud Spanner instance. They want an RPO of 10 minutes and RTO of 5 minutes. Which two features should they use?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Enable point-in-time recovery (PITR) with a 10-minute recovery period
Point-in-time recovery (PITR) with a 10-minute recovery period is correct because it allows restoring Cloud Spanner data to any point within the last 10 minutes, meeting the RPO of 10 minutes. PITR provides versioned data retention without requiring manual backups, enabling recovery within seconds to minutes, which satisfies the RTO of 5 minutes when combined with a multi-region configuration.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Enable point-in-time recovery (PITR) with a 10-minute recovery period
Why this is correct
PITR allows recovery to any point within window, meeting RPO.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Deploy a cross-region read replica
Why it's wrong here
Spanner does not support cross-region read replicas.
✗
Configure automated backups
Why it's wrong here
Backups have RTO in hours.
✗
Use database versioning to failover
Why it's wrong here
Versioning is not a Spanner feature for DR.
✓
Set up a multi-region configuration
Why this is correct
Multi-region provides automatic failover with low RTO.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Google Cloud often tests the misconception that read replicas or automated backups alone can meet strict RPO/RTO requirements, but in Cloud Spanner, only PITR combined with a multi-region configuration provides the necessary recovery granularity and automatic failover.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Cloud Spanner's PITR uses a separate version storage that retains committed data for the configured retention period (up to 7 days), allowing exact point-in-time restores without impacting ongoing writes. In a multi-region configuration, Cloud Spanner uses synchronous replication across regions with Paxos-based consensus, providing automatic failover within seconds and zero data loss for committed transactions, which together achieve the stated RPO and RTO.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Plan and manage database infrastructure — This question tests Plan and manage database infrastructure — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Enable point-in-time recovery (PITR) with a 10-minute recovery period — Point-in-time recovery (PITR) with a 10-minute recovery period is correct because it allows restoring Cloud Spanner data to any point within the last 10 minutes, meeting the RPO of 10 minutes. PITR provides versioned data retention without requiring manual backups, enabling recovery within seconds to minutes, which satisfies the RTO of 5 minutes when combined with a multi-region configuration.
What should I do if I get this PCDE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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